Finding Richard Castle - It's In The Bank
by Beledi1113
Summary: Castle is kidnapped because of something that happened during his childhood. Now it's caught up with him at the worst possible time. This time, it has nothing to do with the CIA or Castle's father.
1. Chapter 1 Queen of Hearts

**Finding Richard Castle – It's in the Bank**

Summary – Castle is kidnapped because of something that happened during his childhood. Now it's caught up with him at the worst possible time.

Author's Notes – Hey, I finally had a plot bunny that doesn't have anything to do with the CIA or Castle's father. So this idea just wouldn't go away, but it's going to be short. It's mildly based on various spoilers I've read (because I do read spoilers), but I'm sure they aren't doing this. And yes, I know that Beckett, Espo, and Ryan wouldn't be allowed near Castle's case because they are too close and that in real life, they could even get thrown off the force for it, but it makes for good drama and isn't that what we're here for?

Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. The OCs came out of my imagination.

**Chapter 1 – Queen of Hearts**

# # # # # # # # #

"Two courtside seats to Knicks," said Castle, as he looked at the cards in his hand and then up at the thug babysitting him today.

The man barked a laugh at him. "Hah – you think I watch sports? They're fixed. Come on, man, you gotta do better than that."

"Okay," said Castle, taking a breath and thinking. "This may be more to your liking, Einstein – a seat on one of the first commercial space flights."

The man nodded. "Yeah, yeah – I could go for that. So what you got?"

"Two pair," said Castle as he placed his cards face up on the table.

"Shit," said the man as he threw his cards down and then looked at his watch for the millionth time that day. "You are one lucky sob."

"Some people would disagree," Castle said as he scraped the folded pieces of paper towards him with his right hand.

His left hand lay uselessly on the table. They had broken it the first time he had tried to escape, thinking that only having one good hand would slow him down, which it really did to Castle's utter dismay. There's wasn't a lot you could to with only one good hand.

"Let's go again," Einstein said, shuffling the cards and then dealing another hand.

Castle took a breath. "Sure, it's not like I have to be anyplace soon."

He leaned back in the chair and looked around the small trailer that had been his unwanted home the last couple of months.

It had definitely seen better days, probably looking for all intents and purposes like it was deserted wherever it was parked.

The windows were boarded up on the outside so that he couldn't see out. Two pop-up vents in the ceiling and two grated vents in the floor provided the much-needed air circulation. The door was bolted from the outside when he was here by himself, which hadn't happened lately.

But even if he had been alone, it wouldn't have done any good to get the door open because a heavy shackle was locked around his left ankle and that shackle was connected by a 3' chain to a metal rod that ran the length of the trailer. He could move around but there wasn't much of anywhere to go.

At one point, he had thought about sawing his foot off to get free, but there weren't any road noises, not even when someone showed up to check on him, so he knew they weren't near any form of civilization.

He didn't remember how he gotten here after the crash, but by the marks he made on the wall when he had woken up the first day, he had been here almost 4 months – 4 months of his life wasted in this hell hole.

At least there was running water in the bathroom and whoever was keeping him here supplied the barest of necessities – bottled water, granola bars, dried fruit, jerky, and toiletries – making sure he didn't have any metal objects available after his first escape attempt.

For the first couple of weeks he was here, he had waited and watched, biding his time, as he devised a plan to escape. Whoever was holding him was fairly predictable – someone would show up with food and water every 4 days and take away the garbage. He just simply needed to free himself from the rod that he was chained to during the times they weren't here.

He kept testing the floor where the rod was connected to it, looking for any weakness, and finally found one – the floor wasn't solid – it echoed slightly when he knocked on it. He just needed something to cut through the wood and he eventually found a piece of metal that he could use to pry up the boards. After that, he might be able to get to the nuts on the bolts that held the rod in place. He couldn't do anything about the shackle around his ankle, but at least he'd be free of the rod.

The work was slow because the piece of metal was dull, but he was finally seeing some progress after several weeks.

He had to be careful so they wouldn't find out what he was doing and marked each day so that he knew when they would be coming.

On the days they were supposed to be there, he slid a chair over the end of the rod near the front of the trailer and put a towel on the other end of the rod so they couldn't see his handiwork.

Which worked perfectly until they showed up one day early and realized what he was doing. Then, they simply beat the crap out of him, broke his hand, and reinforced the floor with metal plates so that the boards wouldn't come loose.

After that, someone was there every day, sitting, watching him as he watched them, a warped game of cat and mouse.

Finally, out of shear boredom, he asked one of the men if they had a deck of cards – maybe they could pass the time playing poker. A few ignored him, a few took him up on the offer, such as Einstein sitting across from him.

As Castle looked at his cards and then at the man sitting across from him, a movement near one of the roof vents caught his eye.

Birds and squirrels were frequent visitors to the roof, but this was the first time one was curious enough to try to come into the trailer.

He was about to say something when he realized what it was – a drone – an ultra-quiet drone from the lack of the sound. He had read about those but didn't realize that they were available yet.

Castle sat back and looked at his cards, bouncing his shackled leg so that the chain rattled, covering up the sound should the drone make any and also giving the person monitoring the drone an indication of what was going on. "Sorry – got a cramp," he said as the man glared at him. "I'll take 1 card."

# # # # # # # # #

The 12th had gotten an anonymous tip worth $50,000 if it panned out that Castle was being held in a trailer in the woods and had quickly put a plan in place to check it out.

They had had numerous tips in the 4 months that Castle had been missing that were just dead-ends, people wanting their 15 minutes of fame.

But if it was true, they couldn't just storm the place without knowing what the situation was inside, so SWAT was called in.

The monitor in the van parked a mile from the trailer sparked to life and the drone operator moved the drone to various positions to get a better look inside the trailer.

"There," said Beckett, pointing to one of the men at the table, breathing a sigh of relief for the first time in months. "That's Castle."

"Are they playing cards?" asked the leader as they watched the scene inside of the trailer as Castle lay down another hand and scraped pieces of paper towards him. He turned to Beckett. "Are you sure he's being held against his will?"

Beckett looked at him. "Yes, I'm sure."

"What's that noise?" asked Ryan as they heard the clanking. "Is that from the drone?"

The man monitoring the drone shook his head. "No, it's from inside the trailer."

"That's Castle," smiled Beckett. "He's letting us know that he saw the drone. They must have him restrained."

Several men in SWAT gear got out of another van and slung their automatics over their shoulders.

"Detectives, you stay here," the leader said. "We'll move in and secure the area."

"No way in hell," Beckett responded as she shrugged on her body armor.

The man looked at her for a moment and then nodded. "Just understand – I'm taking the lead."

"Yes, sir," Beckett replied, looking at Espo and Ryan as they shrugged on their body armor.

"Let's move out," the SWAT commander said to the team.

# # # # # # # # #

The team slowly moved in to surround the trailer. The leader carefully snaked in a video camera under the door to get a better look and then pulled back.

The door wasn't locked, but they were going to have to be quick about this because the other man in the trailer has a 9 mm and looked like he wouldn't hesitate to use it.

# # # # # # # # #

Castle looked at his hand again and then at the man. "Come on – you can do better than that," he mimicked. "How about where Jimmy Hoffa is buried?"

The man barked a laugh at him. "You think I'd still be working if I knew that. I'd retired with my millions from the publicity."

Castle rattled the chain louder as he watched the door handle turn. "Combination to Fort Knox then?"

"My grandma's special recipe for spaghetti sauce – it makes the angels weep," the man said.

Castle shrugged. "That'll do."

"So what do you have?" the man asked, pointing with his chin at Castle's cards, as he looked at his own cards.

"Four queens," Castle said as he laid them out on the table.

"Are you shitting me?" the man said, leaning forward to look at the cards and then back up at Castle. "I only see three."

"Queen of Spades, Queen of Diamonds, and Queen of Clubs," said Castle, pointing to the cards on the table. "However, the Queen of Hearts is standing behind you with a gun pointed at your head. And she's really pissed at having her wedding day ruined."

The man's frowned deepened and he started to turn around, only to be stopped by a gun pressing into the back of his skull.

"You move a muscle, I'll blow your brains out," said Beckett softly.

# # # # # # # # #


	2. Chapter 2 Fences and Runners

**Finding Richard Castle – It's In the Bank**

Summary – Castle is kidnapped because of something that happened during his childhood. Now it's caught up with him at the worst possible time.

Author's Notes – Yep, last chapter. This one was really quick. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. The OCs came out of my imagination.

**Chapter 2 – Fences and Runners**

# # # # # # # # #

The SWAT officers quickly took Einstein into custody as Beckett and Castle embraced for the first time in months, trembling in the realization that it was finally over and Castle was safe.

They finally let go of one another when an EMT stepped in to access Castle's condition.

One of the SWAT officers examined the shackle around his ankle, and then the rod and plates.

"They really did a job on this," he said finally. "The lock is an industrial grade lock that can't be removed using bolt cutters, so we're going to have to bring in a welder to cut the shackle off."

"How long is that going to take?" Beckett asked.

The man shrugged. "Could be a couple of hours."

She looked at Castle, searching his face. "You gonna be okay with that, babe?"

Castle nodded with a smile. "I'm fine now that you're here."

The EMT carefully picked up Castle's hand to examine it. "This looks to be a couple of months old," he stated.

"Yeah, it is," Castle replied simply.

"It's already healed, but I'd like to split it. It will make it more comfortable on the ride back," the EMT said.

"Okay," said Beckett, but Castle put up his good hand to stall the man.

"Before you do that," he said, turning to Beckett. "Kate, I noticed that Einstein was extremely nervous today – like he was expecting someone."

"Then we need to get you out of here as soon as possible," she responded.

"No," said Castle. "If we leave now, I'll never know why this happened and whoever did this would still be out there. What if they took you or Alexis or Mother? Can you have the boys check it out?"

Beckett nodded, not liking it but understanding his reasons. "Sure; I'll be right back."

It only took a few minutes to break Einstein, but he was more than willing to cough up whoever hired him for immunity and a new identity, only he didn't know who had hired him.

"What?" scoffed Espo. "You work for Rent-a-Thug?"

"No, a friend of a friend. The big guy is back and is supposed to show up today with my money," Einstein replied.

The detectives quickly conferred and then went back inside the trailer.

"Rick, he said the person who arranged this is coming today," Beckett said.

"Okay, okay," said Castle, nodding. "We can use that to our advantage. They don't know that you're here."

"I don't like this," said Ryan, looking at the small trailer. "There's nowhere for us to hide in here."

"They've gone to great lengths to keep me alive, so they must want something," argued Castle. "And you've got the drone. Leave it in the vent so you can see what's going on. And then you can take the guy down before anything happens."

Beckett frowned, biting her lip, and then nodded. "Okay. But just don't get yourself killed – you owe me a wedding."

# # # # # # # # #

Less than an hour later, with the SWAT team carefully hidden, a plain-clothes officer stationed by the nearest road reported a car passing his location. The car turned off of the road and made its way to the trailer.

After it stopped, the driver got out of the car and opened the back door. A man in a long trench coat and fedora stepped out, surveyed the area, and then walked inside the trailer with the driver following.

"So we meet again, Mr. Castle – or should I call you Mr. Rogers as that is the name I knew you by?" the man asked, taking off his hat and laying it on the table.

Castle looked up from where he was sitting at the gray-haired man. "Should I know you?" he replied.

The man shook his head slightly. "Probably not – we only met once when you were 10. I doubt that you remember me. I'm Antonio Putnam, but I think you knew my cousin Geraldo Putnam much better."

Castle thought for a moment and then said, "Gerry? The short-order cook from the diner?"

Putnam nodded and then looked around as if expecting someone else to be there.

"Are you looking for Einstein? He's taking a walk, if you know what I mean," said Castle.

Putnam chuckled slightly and then sat down in the chair opposite Castle and regarded him for a moment.

"I do apologize for keeping you on ice for so long. I had more trouble getting back into the country than I expected. And I'm sure these accommodations aren't what you are used to." he said almost courteously, and then his tone changed. "Tell me what you remember about my cousin."

Castle shrugged. "Gerry lived on the floor above our apartment when I was 10. He was a short order cook at the diner down the street. Uh, he was always making us breakfast, giving us comic books and toys."

"Anything else?" said Putnam.

"The kids in the building ran errands for him. He worked so much that we'd take packages to the post office for him on our way to school and pick up groceries for him after school." Castle frowned at the man, slowly putting the pieces together now that he was an adult and knew that such things existed. "And he was your fence and we were his runners."

"Smart man," said Putnam, nodding slowly, with a strange smile. He looked at the man standing behind Castle. "See, I told you he was smart. We had a good thing going – right under the Fed's noses too – but then Gerry got greedy and stiffed me on a shipment – about $1 million back then."

Castle's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. "So you're the person who murdered him."

Putnam shrugged. "The police said it was an accident – he stuck a fork into the toaster to pull out a piece of burnt bread and was electrocuted."

Castle shook his head. "Except that Gerry didn't eat toast – said that it was a lazy person's breakfast. He only ate pancakes, eggs, and bacon, so he wouldn't have made toast. I always knew there was something odd about his death, but who listens to a 10-year-old kid?"

Putnam shrugged again. "Let's just say he wouldn't cough up the merchandise or what he did with it. Which brings us to you, Mr. Rogers. We didn't find it in his apartment so he must have stashed it some place. I think he gave it to one of the kids in the building – maybe you even."

Putnam leaned forward. "So tell me, Mr. Rogers, what happened that last day my cousin was alive?"

Castle thought back to that day so vividly etched in his memory, the one that may have set him on the path his life took without him knowing it. "Gerry made us pancakes for breakfast and then gave several of us packages to drop off for him since he was running late. I dropped my package off and got the receipt on the way to school. Then I stopped by the diner on the way home to give him the receipt but he wasn't there. The owner said he never came in that day so, when I got home, I went upstairs to give him the receipt. The door was unlocked and he was dead in the kitchen. The police said he had been dead for several hours."

"That must have been quite a shock for you being so young," said Putnam. "So did he give you anything else that morning?"

Castle shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Are you sure?" Putnam asked again, frowning. "I would hate for all of this to have been for nothing. It would have been something that you would have kept."

"A bank," Castle said finally, nodding. "He gave me a bank the night before he died – said to put money in it every day and I'd be a millionaire in no time."

"Good man," said Putnam. "Now, let's go get that bank and I'll let you go after I'm safely out of the country again. All I'm interested in is my money."

The driver knelt down, unlocked the shackle from around Castle's ankle, and then pulled him up by the arm. "Let's go."

Suddenly free of the weight from around his ankle, Castle stumbled slightly as they walked out of trailer, effectively moving out of the line of fire as the SWAT team advanced on the two men with their guns drawn.

"Antonio Putnam," Espo barked. "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Richard Castle. Put your hands behind your back."

He and Ryan quickly handcuffed the suspects and led them to the waiting van as Beckett knelt by Castle and hugged him tightly.

"It's over," she whispered into his ear.

"Yeah," Castle replied. "Let's go home."

# # # # # # # # #

The EMT did a quick patch up on Castle's hand and ankle while they waited for backup to get there.

Their first call was to Martha and Alexis to let them know that Castle was safe; the second call was to the orthopedic surgeon who had operated on Castle's knee to have him see what he could do for Castle's hand.

A short time after that, Beckett and Castle arrived at the loft for a joyous reunion with Martha and Alexis, and a much needed grooming session for Castle with Beckett's help.

Later than evening, Espo and Lanie, and Ryan and Jenny came over for a late dinner.

"Antonio Putnam," said Ryan. "The FBI was investigating him and his cousin for racketeering and murder around the time you would have been 10. Putnam fled the country after his cousin was died and hasn't been seen until now. However, he still has warrants out for him, so he'll be going away for a long time."

Castle shook his head as he listened. "Gerry was such a nice guy – it's hard to imagine that he was mixed up in any of this."

"Oh, I knew he was too good to be true," said Martha. "A free babysitter – but then again, you get what you pay for."

"So this is what caused it all," said Ryan, looking at the bank in the form of the Empire State Building that sat on the table.

Castle nodded. "I didn't think much of it at the time. I never really used it after that day. I'm not even sure why I kept it." He looked at Beckett. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all," smiled Beckett as she pulled on a pair of gloves. She carefully turned it over and opened the bottom. She then reached inside and pulled out a folded piece of material.

"Wow," she said as she unfolded the material, feeling the weight in her hand. "There must be 30 coins in here," she said, putting them on the table.

"Hey, Gerry was right," Ryan said as he looked at the gold coins that had been in the bank. "Castle, you were a millionaire all this time and didn't even know it."

"That should make up for the bundle you dropped on the wedding that didn't happen," remarked Javi.

"Yeah," said Lanie. "You could rent the Rockefeller Center for that."

Castle smiled slightly as he pulled Beckett closer to him. "We're thinking of something much smaller now."

He looked at the coins that had caused so much grief, pain, and misery and knew immediately what to do with them. "If we don't find the rightful owners, they'll make a nice addition to the NYPD Widows and Orphans fund."

The rest of the team nodded.

Beckett smiled at him and kissed him quickly. "I knew there was a reason I wanted to marry you."

The doorbell rang and Martha piped up brightly. "Dinner's here."

Alexis laughed as they walked to the door, paid the delivery boy, and then carried the sacks to the kitchen. They quickly pulled the containers out of the sacks and sat them on the table.

The team then sat down, passing the various containers around, laughing and talking, once again complete.

# # # # # # # # #

The End


	3. Chapter 3 Finally

**Finding Richard Castle – It's in the Bank**

Summary – Castle is kidnapped because of something that happened during his childhood. Now it's caught up with him at the worst possible time.

Author's Notes – Okay, so you asked for an epilogue and a wedding, so here is another one of my versions of the wedding, and yep, it's the whole thing. Hope you like it and yeah, come on Monday! And thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews.

Disclaimer – Don't own Castle – Marlowe, ABC, and Disney do. The OCs came out of my imagination.

**Chapter 3 – Epilogue – Finally**

# # # # # # # # #

The appointment with the orthopedic surgeon had gone well and he was hopeful he could repair Castle's hand to the point that it was usable again.

But the doctor wasn't pleased with the results of Castle's lab tests, the result of having his diet jacked up for the last several months, and postponed the surgery to correct that.

He gave Castle the name of the nutritionist he worked with and she prescribed a special diet and supplements for at least a month to rebuild his immunity.

Martha and Alexis took great delight in fixing Castle the all-natural smoothies that the nutritionist had recommended, making sure he downed each one, which he did without much protest and too many yucky faces.

A month later, the surgery had gone well, but left Castle with several pins in his hand and a cast from the first knuckles of his fingers to just below his elbow. Falling back on his coping mechanism of humor, he used this to his advantage as he'd walk around the loft, saying that he was going to assimilate people as he pointed the cast and pins at them.

This, of course, left him out of most of the action at the precinct. Beckett occasionally let him join her at the initial crime scene, but he was not allowed in the field as they canvassed for suspects, which irritated him no end.

But he had a lot of catching up to do with what had happened while he had been gone, so he didn't spend too sulking.

One of the things he did do was find out way Rogan's and Kate's marriage hadn't shown up on any of Beckett's previous background checks. The explanation was rather simple – the roof of the drive-through wedding chapel they had used leaked during a rare thunderstorm and the folder with their marriage license and record of their marriage had been tossed into a box for safekeeping, along with the licenses of several other couples. The box was finally unearthed years later and the marriages then recorded. The wedding chapel had been able to contact O'Leary and he said he would take care of informing his 'wife' of the mix-up and thanked them profusely for the two-day all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas they offered as way of an apology.

Martha was busy too. Putting her time in the theater to good use, Martha quickly altered several of Castle's dress shirts and coats to go over the cast on his hand. As an actress, one always had to be ready to make last minute repairs to costumes they were wearing and Martha had learned a few tricks in her day.

Castle and Beckett decided to postpone the wedding once again until he got the cast off and the pins out, so they were now looking at a date in early November.

That is, until the Wednesday morning Castle woke up to find Beckett staring at him, tears in her eyes.

"Uh, Kate, is everything okay?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with one hand.

"I don't want to wait," she sniffed. "I want to get married now – this week. You and me and the Justice of the Peace."

Castle sat up and then wiped a tear off of her cheek. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Beckett nodded at him, smiling. "Yes, I am. Time's too short to wait any more. We can have a party later."

"Okay," said Castle. "Then how about Friday, whether or not there's a body?"

He paused for a moment. "You do realize we'll have to get another marriage license?" he asked as they laid back down, snuggling together.

"Well, I've got my paperwork and you've got yours – we can get it this morning on the way to the precinct," Beckett replied.

# # # # # # # # #

Several hours later, Castle and Beckett found themselves once again at the City Clerk's office, facing the same clerk who had pronounced Beckett as already being married earlier in the year.

She frowned at them. "Say, aren't you that lady who didn't know she was married?" she asked, looking pointedly at Beckett.

Beckett smiled and handed her the paperwork. "Not married now," Beckett said.

"And do you have your paperwork?" the clerk asked Castle.

"Right here," he said, turning over his paperwork.

The clerk examined both sets of papers and then the license they had filled out. "Then you're good to go," she said handing them the license. She quickly added, "And better luck this time."

# # # # # # # # #

Friday morning dawned sunny and cool, a clear day by New York standards.

Castle had already left for a meeting at Black Pawn and told Beckett that he would pick her up by 1 pm that afternoon for their appointment with the judge.

Beckett carefully chose what she would wear, dressing up a little more than usual, wondering if she should take a change of clothes in case there was a body drop that morning.

She was still contemplating this when her phone rang. "Beckett," she said quickly picking it up. "Uh huh, uh huh. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

She sighed as she pulled on her shoes. They could not catch a break.

There had indeed been a body drop and not only was it a body drop, it was a body drop in their park. Somehow she felt that since it was special to them, it would have been off limits to the evil in the world, but no, that was not the case.

# # # # # # # # #

By the time she got there, the park had been roped off by crime scene tape.

Lanie was there, standing near the body that lay in the center of park, taking notes. The drape covering the body stuck up at an odd angle, red socks and black shoes sticking out from the edge.

Espo and Ryan were standing near the edge of the park.

"Hey, where's Castle?" asked Ryan as she walked up to them.

"Yeah, he would love this one," said Espo. "Right up his alley."

"Meeting at Black Pawn," Beckett said. "What do you have?"

Ryan flipped open his notebook as they walked over to where the body lay. "A man dressed as cupid was running around the park early this morning and that homeless guy over there took exception to it and shot him with his bow and arrow."

"Huh," said Beckett as she stopped by the body. "It's a little early for Valentine's Day. Any ID?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not that we've found, but he really doesn't have any pockets. Red body suit and big white diaper – kinda disgusting if you ask me."

Beckett knelt down and pulled the sheet back slightly.

The man's head was covered by red hood of the body suit, the fabric distorting his features.

She pulled the sheet back further and saw the arrow sticking out of his chest, the blood blending in with the red body suit.

She pulled the sheet back over the man's head and stood up, looking around. "Anybody see anything?"

"Yeah," said Ryan. "The dog walker over there saw the whole thing. Even recorded it on her phone."

Beckett looked over to where a young woman with her back to her was talking to an officer. "Can you take her to the station to get her statement?"

"Sure," said Ryan and Espo at the same time and headed off in that direction.

Lanie walked over to Beckett and looked at her curiously. "So, girl, you are simply glowing today. Something special going on?"

Beckett bit her lip and suppressed a smile. "No – just great weather. So what about our vic?"

Lanie shook her head. "Nothing yet except he was killed by an arrow. We should be able to identify him after CSU takes pictures and we can get him to the morgue and peel that body suit off of him." Lanie looked over at an officer with a camera walking across the park. "Oh, there's Torres – I need to talk to him."

Beckett nodded as Lanie walked off to talk to the officer and then looked around again. Fortunately there weren't many people in the park at this time, no children to be traumatized by this experience.

She started to walk away when she heard something and then stopped. What was that? She listened intently, trying to pinpoint the sound and then realized it was coming from under the blanket and the man's hand was twitching slightly.

"Lanie!" Beckett screamed as the man sat up, knocking the blanket off of him. "He's still alive!"

"No! No!" Beckett yelled, dropping to her knees and trying to still the man's arm as he grabbed for the arrow, but to no avail. He pulled hard, yanking it out.

Beckett reached forward to press her hands against the gushing wound, trying to save the man's life, only to have something black pop out at her, sending her sprawling on her bottom in the grass. Mouth agape, she stared at the object and then at the man in red. A black crow? What the hell?

"There," said the man as he peeled off the red mask with his good hand. "Bet you're not nervous about saying your vows now."

Beckett thinned her lips as she glared at him. "Richard Alexander Edgar Rogers Castle, you'll pay for this."

Castle grinned back at her. "Oh, I definitely look forward to you spanking me," he replied, wiggling an eyebrow.

Beckett glared at him for a moment more and then looked around at the people standing in the park. Alexis was the young dog walker, her father the homeless man. Martha had to be around here someplace.

Gates and Jenny were standing next to Judge Markway at the edge of the park.

The lady they had selected to play at the original wedding was setting up her grand harp by the swings.

Lanie, Espo, and Ryan walked over, grinning at her in a 'cat that ate the canary' manner, the boys reaching down to help Castle up and feeding the bird with him.

Beckett stood and brushed off her pants, and then smiled at Castle forgivingly. "How long did it take to plan this?"

"We started on Wednesday, when Richard said that you two were getting married today," said Martha as she walked up to them.

Castle looked at Beckett hesitantly. "I just wanted the day to be special for you," he said quietly. "For us."

"It's perfect," said Beckett smiling, looking around again.

"Good – then let's put on the finishing touches," said Martha as she ushered Kate off to the side to make sure all of the grass was off of her pants and hand her a bouquet of her favorite flowers.

Alexis helped Castle put on his dress shirt and jacket over the red bodysuit. Fortunately, Ryan had been lying when he said that cupid had been wearing a white diaper – it was a pair of black dress pants with the legs rolled up slightly to hide them when the 'body' was covered by the drape.

When he was finally ready, Castle moved over to stand by the judge who stood by the swings, Alexis by his side.

The rest of the invitees stood in two groups, making an aisle for Kate and her father to walk up.

"So, shall we get started?" asked Judge Markway.

He nodded at the harpist, who started to play the song Kate had chosen to walk down the aisle to.

At the edge of the park, Jim held out his arm to his daughter. "You look lovely, Kate. Your mother would have been so proud."

"Thank you, Dad," she replied.

"You ready?" he asked.

Beckett nodded. "Yeah."

They started the processional that finally ended at the swings, where her fiancée waited for her, a smile beaming on his face.

"Dear friends and family," said the judge, addressing the group. "We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Richard Alexander Edgar Rogers Castle and Katherine Houghton Beckett in marriage. With love and commitment, they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife."

He then looked at Castle and Beckett. "Today you enter as individuals, but you will leave here as husband and wife, blending your lives, expanding your family ties, and embarking upon the grandest adventure of human interaction. The story of your life together is still yours to write. All those present have come to witness and celebrate your love and commitment this day – eager to be a part of the story not yet told."

Judge Markway looked at the crowd. "With that in mind, I ask you who are present today to support this union and affirm that these two should be married today."

The crowd nodded, with comments of "Yes" and "About time" prevailing.

Judge Markway looked at Jim. "Who gives this woman to be married?"

"Her mother and I do," said Jim. He turned to face Kate and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping back with the group.

Beckett handed Lanie the bouquet of flowers and then stepped forward to face Castle as they took each other's hands.

Judge Markway addressed the group again. "The couple has written their own vows which they would like to share now." He nodded at Castle.

Castle gazed deeply into Kate's eyes, a slight smile on his face as he started. "Katherine Houghton Beckett, I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you and you were right, I had no idea. You're the most...remarkable…maddening…challenging…frustrating person I have ever met and a puzzle that I will gladly spend the rest of my days trying to solve. You make me want to be a better man. I vow to love, honor, and cherish you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are both, separately and together. I promise that we won't ever be boring, and that even though we may face challenges in life, we'll meet those challenges together. You are my always and I will love you forever."

Beckett swallowed slightly before starting. "Richard Alexander Edgars Roger Castle, I didn't know what I was getting into when I walked into that book launch party all those years ago. What I do know now is that you saved me, you made me want to be whole again, to want more, to experience the world and not hide from it. And I will always be grateful for that. I vow to be there for you every day; to love, honor, and respect you; to always be by your side. I know we won't be boring, because a great love story can never be boring. You are my always and I will love you forever."

They smiled at one another. Even though they had written their vows separately, they had ended them the same.

Judge Markway paused for a moment and then nodded at Lanie and Alexis, who stepped forward and handed him the wedding rings.

He handed Kate's ring to Castle. "Rick, please take this ring and place it upon Katherine's finger, and as you do, repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of our love. With it, I wed you and commit my life to you always."

Castle did as he was instructed, placing the ring on Kate's finger and repeating the words.

Judge Markway then turned to Kate and handed her the ring for Castle. "Katherine, please take this ring and place it upon Rick's finger, and as you do, repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of our love. With it, I wed you and commit my life to you always."

This was a little more difficult for Beckett to do because of the screws sticking out of Castle's hand and the cast on his arm, but she carefully placed the ring on the ring finger of his left hand and repeated the words.

Judge Markway smiled at the couple. "Now, by the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss each other."

Amidst the applause from the group, they leaned in for a lingering kiss and finally broke apart with a smile and then another quick kiss.

They turned to face the group as JM declared, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. Richard and Katherine Castle."

The harpist started playing again as they walked off, again to applause.

As they stopped at the edge of the park, Castle pulled Beckett into a tight hug.

"So now what," Beckett asked, leaning into the hug, resting her head on his shoulder, content in his arms.

"This, Mrs. Richard Castle Katherine Beckett," he replied with a smile, "is just the beginning."

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Really the End This Time


End file.
